1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of mower decks for riding or walk-behind lawn mowing machines, and more particularly relates to an improved sectional mower deck having pivotal side wing sections which can be raised upwardly so as to create a more narrow profile for the mowing machine.
2. Description of Related Art
Various types of lawn mowing machines having pivotal side wing sections have been developed. The current offerings of such mower decks are typically of the ground following type wherein the side wing sections can be selectively raised or removed to present a more narrow profile for passage through narrow width openings and for storage, transport, and the like. When the side wing sections are raised or removed, the cutting blades must be disengaged for safety purposes. Prior art mower decks having pivoting side wing sections typically incorporate cutting blade spindles which remain attached to the pivoting side wing sections when the side wing sections are raised. The drive arrangements and mounting mechanisms for cutting blade structures which pivot in conjunction with the side wing sections tend to be very complex, resulting in relatively high production, maintenance, and repair costs for such prior art machines. Another problem with prior art designs is that they have not been entirely satisfactory for use with zero-turn-radius (ZTR) mowing machines. This is because prior art mower decks having pivoting side wing sections typically function as ground following mower decks, wherein a set of castor wheels are mounted to the ground following mower deck to facilitate passage of the mower deck across the underlying ground surface. In ZTR applications, it is well known that the mowing machine is capable of making sharp turns around a zero-turning radius, with results being that the associated castor wheel arrangements must effectively pivot underneath the mower deck around 180 to 270 degrees to facilitate passage of the mower deck across the ground surface. Providing such castor wheel arrangements in a cost effective manner has been heretofore difficult to achieve.
Another problem with prior art mowing machines, especially those which incorporate removable or detachable pivoting side wing sections, is that the operator is typically required to leave the operator station to perform time consuming and labor intensive steps in order to remove the protruding side wing sections before the mowing machine is presented with a more narrow profile for passage through narrow width openings and the like.
Therefore, there remains a strong need for an improved sectional mower deck system having pivoting side wing sections and pivoting cutting blades, wherein the cutting blades remain as fixed components of the main deck housing, and wherein the mower deck functions as a rigid platform suitable for ZTR mower applications. Such a system provides advantage by minimizing the cost and complexity of the associated blade drive system and mower deck mounting structure, resulting in manufacturing cost advantage and superior operator convenience.